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Second real post took a bit longer because apparently there are several professors who really wanted me to turn in some original work. One final, a presentation, and a paper outline later, I took the morning off to complete work on my desk. I have to tell you, my technique wasn’t perfect, but it came out just like I hoped it would…and under budget.

Today’s project was fueled by the second season of “The Flash” because I miss “Supergirl” so much. Judge all you want but Kara Zor-El gets me.

Onto the desk! Supplies: I found a pale green colored eggshell paint ($5) in the 50% off section at Home Depot and used the rollers from the kitchen cabinets (~$10). Additionally, I picked up the semi-gloss polyurethane to seal the paint ($7).

Door ($20): I bought this one at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The store separated out the closet from exterior doors which made it easier to find one without grooves.

Trestles ($15 ea.): Although it really seemed like a good idea to use cabinets, I wanted a more open area under my desk to move around and not bash my knee all the time.

Spray Paint ($12, Michael’s had a sale!): I ended up buying two cans, which I am really glad I did.

After I removed the door knob, I cleaned off then entire door and sanded down any rough looking areas. The roller really helped get the door painted quickly. HOWEVER, I had some problems with the polyurethane. I am thinking it could be one of two problems: either the green paint wasn’t dry enough before I started the top coat or I did a poor job of applying it evenly. As I write this, I am realizing it is probably a combination of the two. The coating doesn’t feel like it has ridges, but there is some discoloration where it built up on the edge of the roller. Not annoying enough to have done another coat to correct it, just work with the poly a little before doing a big area.

Then onto the trestles. I have never really used spray paint before so I was pretty excited. It was as easy as I had hoped, but there were some splatter marks that I didn’t really know if I could correct. As I said, I am glad I had bought two cans but wish I had a third. I was able to use a can for each trestle and it would have been nice to go over a couple other areas again because the trestles’ black color made the lightly covered spots more noticeable.

Finally, I let everything dry and then got it into my attic-office.

With the exception of the carpet (that came with the house), I am pretty dang happy with how this project turned out. Plus, doesn’t every woman need enough space for three screens?

Now I am capping off my day with homemade bbq with a pineapple chutney.

I never knew how much I liked tile countertop until I found how much it would cost to replace it. Now, I LOVE it.

(Seriously though, this needs to go…soon)

But I had to find some way to upgrade our kitchen. Growing up, J and I both wanted really bold colors in our rooms which made it easy for me to convince him to let me paint the insides of the cabinets BRIGHT GREEN. I was actually surprised when I went to go pick out the color and decided on a more muted green. However, it came out bolder than I had originally thought so I am glad I showed a little restraint. (Stay tuned for the updates about painting around the rest of the house, because we went a little crazy.)

I learned the hard way on other projects that not taking the time to do the prep work before I paint can really create an uneven outcome and flaky coverage. I know I am not saying anything you don’t already know, but it’s nice to get a reminder when you are so excited to get started. After I channeled Monica’s cleaning prowess and used painters’ tape where I needed it, I grabbed my foam cabinet roller to start the fun. It didn’t take very long for me to realize that I should have done more planning.

The cabinets were very deep in certain places and had tons of nooks where I could barely fit a paint brush.

Then each of those needed a second layer because the bold color really made every white spot into an eyesore.

(You can still see that I need an extra layer on the top shelf)

J was able to complete two accent walls in the time it took me to finish two cabinets and we have about six. Plus, prepare for being very warm because you are inside the cabinets for several hours at a time. Luckily, I had crappy television to keep me company; thank you, Blue Bloods, for giving me both Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg to distract me from cursing at shelves.

Now that I have complained enough, I have to tell you, it was totally worth it.

After the first day, I was too tired and hated the cabinets. When I woke up and saw them dry, without the painters’ tape everywhere, I loved it. Our kitchen started to feel like we had control over it even if we couldn’t find the motivation to pay for an entirely new one. I even went on the paint the sides of drawers to match.

After adding the final touches with liners and contact paper, I think it will happily distract me from having to clean the grouted tile countertop…for the moment.

Suggestions for anyone looking to do this as well:

Pick a muted yet cheery accent because that much color can become overwhelming. I was really glad I took the chance to downgrade from lime green to Kelly green because there was much more color than I had originally bargained for.

Take the time to do the prep work. On a couple cabinets, I decided to do the painters’ tape as I went but that was a silly, time-wasting mistake. Once you’re in painting mode (and frustrated) the tape does not go on straight.

If you are not covering with some kind of liner, choose your paint wisely. I just used a flat paint and did not put a coating on it because I knew we would be adding liners. However, the cabinet paint I covered was a semi-gloss so it is likely I would encounter a problem with scrapes over time.

Thanks for judging my style choices and hopefully see you for my next post so you can critique my door-turned-desk decisions.

Well, let’s get this out of the way: I look at Pinterest constantly and it makes me feel like I can perform crafty miracles. So, here I am moving into a new house in a new city with J (a brewery junkie), Dexter (a curious bunny), and empty walls. This blog is an outlet for all our experiences trying to make our new house into a Home through DIY projects and hitting as many local spots as possible. Have fun reading our lists, laughing at our failures, and getting inspired to try some new restaurants or breweries!